


lovestruck

by seoktothegyu



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Enemies to Lovers, Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Poor oblivious Jae, Public Make Outs, and dowoon just finds these two idiots entertaining, brian is the mastermind of his own embarrassments, more like "almost lovers" to enemies then back to lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:14:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25206790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seoktothegyu/pseuds/seoktothegyu
Summary: Brian’s startup café receives a negative review from a famous food blogger named Park Jaehyung.or, the one wherein we ignore all but one of jae’s allergies, and brian is an adorable self-saboteur
Relationships: Kang Younghyun | Young K/Park Jaehyung | Jae
Comments: 55
Kudos: 156
Collections: Day6 OTPs





	1. i don't ever do this, must admit i'm pretty nervous

**Author's Note:**

> this is just a fluffy two-shot :) not the multichap one i was pertaining to. the one i said i’m excited about will most likely be almost as long as “secrets”, i think. at least based on the plot points i’ve already laid out, so pls anticipate it! also, i'm feeling really proud of myself lately. i'm finally able to write more than one fic at a time haha yay for improving at multi-tasking lol
> 
> a bit of a disclaimer too: i kind of made fun of the name "eaj" here. pls know that i don't mean that at all, as i love the idol, the name, and the project. but it's what the story called for so i had to. i'm sorry! it's just two sentences, hope i won't make anybody feel bad :)
> 
> btw, i finally opened a [cc for prompts & fic questions!!!](https://curiouscat.qa/jaesbrivilege) Hit me up :)
> 
> Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this story are either products of my imagination or are used fictitiously.

**Young Koffee Brew** @YoungKoffee tweeted: 1min ago

Sunday Breakfast Deal! From 7-10am, get a free refill of a drink of your choice for every order of one of our many club sandwiches! ☕️🥪

Once he’s satisfied with the tweet, Brian walks back to the main part of the coffee shop to see his employees preparing for the new day. He’s currently checking their restaurant’s social media accounts to see how their past customers are talking about the café; he’s scrolling through the numerous posts and photos tagging _@YoungKoffee_. It’s in regularly doing this that he sort of gets an idea or a suggestion of what his customers want, and to have more opportunities to improve. 

Oftentimes though, the tags are just people taking pictures of their orders before eating or an artsy shot of the coffee shop interior featuring their themed furniture and aesthetics.

Brian feels really proud of that. It was his idea to decorate the place with 90s inspired trinkets. 

He has vinyls of popular songs from the era hanging on the walls, along with a variety of colorful album art covers. And to add a bit of coziness to the overall ambiance, the exposed brick wall is being complemented with dark wood floors and all the furniture aside from the booths. Even the large windows do a good job of bringing in natural light and giving the room a warm, welcoming feel.

As for the tables and chairs, when designing the place, he made it a point that each booth must be unique. No set should be the same. For example, on one corner, there’s a set of plush, modern victorian chairs. And on another, there’s a couple of black, industrial-style metal chairs. 

It might have taken him a few weeks to about a couple of months back then to collect all these quirky furniture, but the result sure is worth it. Things are random but somehow, they all appear to work together to unify the specific design of the space.

That’s another reason why he checks the café’s online presence often; everytime he sees customers praising and appreciating his coffee shop, he feels a bit prouder about making those bold choices. People are claiming that his restaurant is the new hub of the town, a go-to place to hangout. You can say that reading these tweets and feedback is also something he looks forward to every single day, something that energizes him before it’s time to flip the ‘Open’ sign.

Given that he has been in a really bad mood since yesterday afternoon, this has been helpful in lifting his spirits. This cafe is like his most-prized possession, something that he worked really hard to build into existence. So to read people saying good things about it makes him happy.

As he continues to scroll through, one tweet in particular catches his attention. It piques his interest after seeing that it has a bunch of retweets, likes, and replies. 

**Park Jaehyung** @eaJeats tweeted: 12h ago

New review is up on my blog! This time, I gave in to yall’s requests and recommendations to finally visit **@YoungKoffee** for the first time! Click the link to read more: eajeats.com/posts/youngkoffee...

Brian feels honored that people deem his store worthy enough to be reviewed by what appears to be a modern food blogger. Who might really be famous judging by the amount of responses they got with just that single tweet.

Excited, he goes to visit the blog.

And on the topmost part of the page, a beautiful shot of his café’s neon sign is captioned with:

**_“Great food & drinks, good ambiance, and… with a tiny hint of poor service?”_**

And just like that, Brian’s bad mood returns to him at full force.

He immediately skims through the first few paragraphs to find out what happened, just noting the important pieces of information. Well, those important to _him_. He doesn’t want to bother reading the rest and completing the entire review because he’s too afraid to know the rest of the blogger’s opinions.

 _God, many people already read this article?_ He thinks to himself, feeling his heart sink.

If he isn’t big on improving his café, he won’t even bother to read a single word of this review. What’s one person’s negative opinion compared to a whole lot more positive ones, right? Still, he makes a mental list of the things he needs to know. His own curiosity won’t permit him to just forget about the headline anyway.

Okay, so… apparently this Park Jaehyung guy ordered their shop’s famous quintessential coffee mocha and one from their special and limited batch of croissant sandwiches. But he didn’t get a refill and left early without finishing his drink. 

Oh, and that the food blogger went to the café just yesterday, Saturday, at around five in the afternoon.

That last tidbit alone offends Brian. 

Not only is this the first negative review his café got. But he was working behind the counter with his baristas at the time the guy said he was there. 

And if Brian recalls correctly, his staff had been nothing but good, friendly, and efficient at doing their job yesterday—as with all the other days since his café opened more than three months ago. He doesn’t recall anyone ever complaining about their quote-unquote “poor service”.

Perturbed, he clicks out of the page without reading the rest—having gotten the information that he needed—and goes back to Twitter instead to do some investigating. 

He wants to see who this guy is. Because everything he’s been seeing and reading so far looks suspiciously familiar.

Brian is good at remembering faces and if the person he sees in Park Jaehyung’s profile looks unfamiliar, he’ll surely start to suspect that this guy only made up the story of coming to his café to write a bad review about them just because they’ve been thriving lately. He is even willing to bet that this guy was offered some considerable amount of money to blast Young Koffee on his blog. 

Brian hates those people. Those who can’t stand seeing others succeed so they do everything they can to drag them back down for their own gain.

That is why Brian is more than determined to prove his inkling that this Park Jaehyung invented the content of his review. And so then he can post a counter tweet that will “expose” this pretentious food blogger. Of course, he is still a little too in denial to admit that all of this is starting to get _really_ familiar and specific.

 _eaJ Eats… he just spelled his name backwards. What’s so clever about that?_ Brian rolls his eyes, uncaring that he’s probably being unfair with his quick judgment to the blogger. _Probably just got too lazy to come up with something else. Hipsters these days, I swear to god…_

For the past couple of minutes, he hasn’t taken his eyes off his phone, determined to prove his hunch, and yet hoping that he’s wrong. But unfortunately, stalking this Park Jaehyung guy proves to be a bit of a challenge. 

Not only is his face absent in his profile picture and cover photo—just a low quality picture of some guy wearing a black ski mask while squinting at the camera and a beautiful shot of the starry night sky, respectively—but Brian is already deep into _@eaJeats’_ media uploads and still finds nothing.

No face, no selfie, no tagged pictures even if it’s just a blurry, candid one, and no other links whatsoever to his other social media accounts aside from the blog. It’s always just pretty shots of food, the sky, the moon, a few memes, and screenshots of his song recommendations.

Brian has half a mind to notice that they surprisingly have similar tastes. Mostly 90s nostalgia, folk, and R&B.

But before he gets distracted, he reminds himself that seeing more of this guy’s playlist is not the reason why he’s here. He needs to dig some dirt on this food blogger even if it meant scrolling through hundreds of faceless photos. He doesn’t even get tired of doing so.

Because Brian is nothing if not persistent.

And finally, after a few more minutes, he’s able to scroll down to the very first few pictures that the guy has posted. 

In the very first photo that Park Jaehyung tweeted, he just captioned it with a simple “hi 😗”. 

_This_ Park Jaehyung that’s staring back at Brian is smiling at the camera with his lips shut tight and boxy; a wonderful expression that pushes his cheeks up high and makes his eyes appear adorably smaller than they already do. 

This is it. He has finally found a face to go with the name. 

A cute and attractive one at that.

And almost instantly, Brian thinks he’s doomed.

His suspicions have been confirmed.

Because not only does he remember serving him his order, making the blog review as authentic as can be, he can also clearly recall his poor attempts at flirting—if you can even call it that—with the famous food blogger. 

_Jaehyung is Jae, the one who stood me up yesterday..._

He was working behind the counter Saturday afternoon, helping to take some of the load off his baristas and employees. Even though the café wasn’t actually that busy, what with them being a couple of hours away from the usual surge of their customers who just got off work, Brian also had nothing better to do.

He was in the middle of chatting with Dowoon, his closest friend and employee (“more like bothering” as the younger often liked to claim what Brian is doing), when Brian’s focus was easily distracted as he caught sight of this tall guy walking into his coffee shop. 

He had his head down, earphones plugged in, and hands hidden in his pockets. Just a classic pose of someone enjoying their time alone in public. 

Brian could easily relate to him. 

But what fascinated Brian enough to pause on what he was doing was the ease at which the guy moved. It took control of Brian’s attention as he watched him walk with a quiet confidence in his steps. A charismatic dance with the way he moves. His wandering eyes that were taking in the interior had a glint of curiosity and open appreciation in them. 

As Brian followed him with his eyes when he approached the counter, it was almost as if he was suddenly the lead in a romcom movie as everything seemed to move in slow motion. 

His eyes travelled from those long and slender legs accentuated by black skinny jeans, to a slim torso and a chest that’s hugged perfectly by an oversized shirt with his collarbones peeking through, almost enticingly.

Brian’s fingers itched to trace them. 

His eyes continued moving up the line of his neck, taking his sweet time to marvel at the other’s Adam’s apple, before coming to rest on his face.

And oh man, what an enigmatic face that is. 

He couldn’t decide whether he looks sexy or cute—especially with those plump lips that seem to form a constant pout. There’s youthfulness in his face from the roundness of his cheeks. But the depths in his adorable, small eyes tell of the many stories hidden behind them.

And Brian was already too willing to spend hours just trying to hear those stories and to get to know him better.

Brian acknowledged that he probably shouldn’t be checking out his own customer so much. But he reasoned that he just always had an eye for beauty. Old habits die hard. Especially when the guy was now standing merely a foot from him. 

_God, I should’ve switched stations with Dowoon behind the cashier today._ He thought to himself as his closest friend and self-proclaimed best employee got greeted by the guy’s unsurprisingly bright and friendly smile.

 _He looks even way cuter up close._ Brian fawned over the cute customer in his head, his own lips subconsciously stretching into a smile as well, mirroring that of the other. Though his was probably even a tad bit brighter. 

“Good afternoon,” Dowoon greeted casually, “what can I get you?”

Brian washed an already-clean mug under the sink to the side counter that’s adjacent to the register. He was trying to look like he was busy working and not plainly eavesdropping and watching this cute guy take out his earphones to decide what to order. And he almost cooed out loud when he saw the guy worrying his full lower lip, hesitating as his eyes scan the list of drinks and pastries artfully written on the wall.

Brian was not the least bit ashamed that the thought of doing that himself, biting onto those plump lips and tasting them, had quickly overshadowed every other thing going on in his head at the moment.

 _What can I do? Beauty recognizes beauty._ He reasoned, knowing how easy he is on the eyes as well. _We’d make such a pretty couple…_

“Um, hi, Dowoon?” the guy started, reading the name on Dowoon’s tag and flashing him a quick smile. 

Brian could tell that he’s polite and a little bit shy with the way his hands fidgeted, switching from playing with his fingers and running a hand through his dark hair and accentuating those blond highlights. 

God, Brian wanted to do that too. His hair looked so soft and fluffy.

Clearing his throat, the cute customer continued, “It’s actually my first time here. What do you recommend? I mean, what’s your bestseller?”

 _Oh, man, that voice._ He was so glad that he wasn’t disappointed. He didn’t even know what he was expecting the guy to sound like, but what Brian heard more than exceeded his imaginations. 

His voice sounded a bit deep and mumbly around the edges, and yet the way words escaped his lips was so melodious and smooth. It was like he was singing Brian a lullaby. Brian would love to spend the rest of his days just listening to that voice.

He wanted to just answer the question himself but he felt like the guy would be weirded out by him if he just butted into their conversation like that. 

And so he let Dowoon handle it. For now.

Dowoon perked up at the inquiry. He’s another foodie like Brian so questions like that appeal to him too. “Oh, our best-seller is the coffee mocha but, um, between you and me? I personally like our flat white more.”

“Ah,” the customer responded, “normally, I order the less popular drinks but since I’m kinda curious, I’ll have the mocha then. I want to try the drink that best represents a café first, you know?” He paused. “And some of that… ‘special croissant BLT sandwich’?” He read the label on the glass case.

“Very well then.” Dowoon confirmed, ringing in his orders. “Coming right up.”

“By the way,” Brian’s eyebrow quirked at the cutie’s sudden inquisitive tone. “What’s special about them, if you don’t mind me asking?” 

Seeing his opportunity, Brian spoke up before Dowoon could even utter a single word, facing the attractive customer for the first time.

“They’re available only every 3rd Saturdays & Sundays of the month. And the owner bakes these croissants and makes these sandwiches himself, following a four-generation-long recipe.” Brian informed him with a bright smile, feeling satisfaction and warmth spread through him as their eyes finally met.

“ _Four_ generations? That’s actually so cool and interesting.” 

Brian was floored. 

The guy really looked like he meant it, if the sudden open and friendly smile he was giving Brian was anything to go by.

And was it just his imagination or did his eyes just travel down Brian’s face and body before going back up?

Brian was practically smirking on the inside. He just caught the other checking him out too. He didn’t have to wonder if the other liked what he saw. Of course, he did. There was no modest way of admitting it but, Brian knew he looked attractive. The countless customers trying to ask for his number could attest to that.

 _Now that I’ve got your attention…_ he thought to himself, pleased. 

It always started with ‘capturing their eyes’ for Brian whenever he found someone he likes so much. He was on the right track. So far, so good. 

Subtly, he leaned his upper body closer to the counter and looked up at his new favorite customer through his lashes. He dropped his bright smile only to replace it with a smaller and slightly more enticing one.

Next was to ‘ _keep_ their eyes on him’.

Brian is an entrepreneur, and a successful one at that, so he knew how to market his goods. Beautifully intense and striking eyes, inviting lips to perfectly go along with them, and flashing those dimples to top it all off. 

That always did the trick for him, often got him a date, or a phone number at the very least.

And because Brian loves getting attention, especially from people he finds attractive, he couldn’t help but add, “And, um, that’s me. The owner, I mean.” 

“Oh, wow!” Due to his surprise, the customer subconsciously puffed out his cheeks and his lips were jutted out in a pout, forming the cutest ‘o’. Brian almost melted. “That’s awesome, man. To own something this new but already so successful when you’re, like what, so young? Wow.”

The tips of Brian’s lips lifted. _Is this his subtle way of asking how old I am?_

He decided to play it cool.

“I don’t know about being young,” he looked down on the counter, as if timid, “I already feel too old at 25.”

“See? You’re younger than I am! I’m 26.” The guy replied, giving out a quick laugh. It sounded like music to Brian’s ears. He wanted to give himself a pat on the back for making this cutie laugh.

And if that wasn’t reward enough, one of Brian’s eyebrows quirked the slightest bit when the customer leaned closer, resting his slender and delicate-looking fingers on the counter. 

Brian wasn’t an expert in reading body language, but even he himself could tell that that was a subtle response to his flirting. 

The cutie continued, “But anyways, I work a boring 9-to-5 job that I don’t even like. And you own a famous café. It seems you got everything figured out. Teach me your ways, sir.”

His knees felt weak. His attraction for the other just grew a thousand times stronger. 

Still, he didn’t let his reaction show as Brian gave out a good-natured laugh. “There’s nothing to teach, I think I just got lucky with how well this café is going.”

Unfortunately, his dearest friend decided to butt in at the wrong timing. “That’s not what you say after every busy day…” Dowoon trailed off, heavy on the implications as he coughed out the words onto his hand. “Or whenever the food you baked gets sold out way before closing time…” 

And because they’re close, Brian knew Dowoon could tell what he was attempting with the cute customer—get friendly enough with him so it wouldn’t be weird to ask for his number before he leaves. That was why sweet, sweet Dowoon felt compelled to antagonize him a bit. 

Him trying to hold in his laughter told Brian just as much.

“Don’t believe him, he’s just joking.” Brian quickly countered, chuckling nervously. “I’m always grateful that people seem to like my food. Maybe I just did something good in my past life and this café is my reward.”

Dowoon scoffed playfully. 

Under the counter, Brian reached a hand to pinch the side of his friend’s leg. Thankfully, the employee didn’t flinch and instead, stayed silent, showing Brian some mercy.

“Hey, don’t downplay your achievement like that. You should be proud...” he paused, hesitating. “Is it cool if I call you Brian?” He asked, gesturing with his hand to Brian’s tag.

He felt more than satisfied with that. He even wanted to say, ‘you can call me whatever you want’ but was able to stop himself at the last second. He didn’t want to come on to him too strongly (as if he wasn’t already).

He also couldn’t help thinking that that’s unfair though. As much as he loved calling him ‘my fave customer’ or ‘cutie’ in his head—which were both completely valid, of course—he’d still been itching to have a name to go with that pretty face.

“Of course.” He flashed the other a smile that was a few degrees too friendly. “And you?”

“I’m Jae.” _Finally! A name!_ “Nice to meet you, Mr. Brian Young-owner-of-Young-Koffee.” He returned Brian’s smile, bordering on being blatantly flirty. 

Between them, Jae reached a hand out in invitation.

It was almost embarrassing how quickly Brian closed that distance and grasped Jae’s hand. He felt himself melting at how soft his skin feels and how big it is compared to his own. Jae’s hand pretty much enveloped his.

 _Oh God, am I a goner?_ He had a weakness for pretty hands. His insides fluttered as they gazed at each other for a few, mirroring each other’s open and delightful expressions and still not letting go of each other.

“Likewise, Mr. Jae Chatty-but-cute-customer.”

Bold move, if Brian does say so himself.

“And I’m Dowoon. Just throwing it in there, in case anyone’s curious…”

Brian secretly stepped on one of Dowoon’s feet for intruding.

“ _Ah—_ ” his friend reacted, startling Jae that he pulled his hand away from Brian. 

He quickly mourned the loss so he threw his friend a sideways glare, close to being really upset for the interruption.

“Are you okay?” Jae asked Dowoon.

Upon seeing what he did—hindering Brian’s advances—Dowoon tried to make up for it by covering his slipup with a cough. 

To Jae, he said, “Sorry, something just got caught in my mouth.” 

He cleared his throat a bit in exaggeration just to appease Brian, kind of like a silent question of, _‘There. You happy?’_

 _Just let me flirt in peace!_ Was what Brian would have replied if he could.

Dowoon sighed, throwing a subtle apologetic smile at Brian before prompting Jae, “So um, would you like to pay for your order now?” 

He also gave Jae an overly fake innocent smile, comfortable in teasing their customer and insinuating how long he and Brian have chatted with each other. 

Brian was just thankful no one was standing in line behind Jae.

“Right. Sorry.” Jae mumbled, scratching the back of his neck as Brian saw the hint of blush on his cheeks. 

_I take that back. You’re the best, Dowoon-ah!_

Brian was delighted. 

Jae felt flustered because of the implication that he got distracted by Brian from doing what he came here to do. Which was ordering and eating, and not flirting with the owner of the very same restaurant.

As Dowoon accepted his payment and dropped a hearty amount in the tip jar, Brian threw Jae a parting wink and said, “I’ll just go and start preparing your sandwich then. You can take a seat, I’ll just deliver it to your table myself.”

“Looking forward to it.” Jae replied with a smile that was part grateful and playful.

After paying for his food and drink, Brian saw Jae claim a spot near the large window, the one with the elongated high table and chairs. 

And because he wanted to keep impressing Jae, he wanted to be the one to prepare all of his orders.

He started with the sandwich first since it wouldn’t take too long. He chose the best looking croissant from their spot in the glass case because, you know, nothing but the best for his favorite customer. He even added extra pieces of the layers in the sandwich; choosing the crispiest pieces of lettuce he could get a hold of, putting strips of bacon that have a good distribution of fat, and adding in the juiciest tomato slices they have.

He finished it in record time and, going against what they had been doing ever since their cafe opening day, Brian personally delivered the order to a customer. Adding ‘special treatment’ to his growing list of flirting tactics to let Jae know how much he likes him. 

“Here you go, sir.” He greeted as he was putting down the plate in front of Jae, using the same pet name the latter called him earlier with a slightly deeper tone of voice. He wanted to see how he’d react.

As expected, Jae jumped in surprise. He was busy taking a picture of the far wall covered with vinyls when Brian boldly leaned closer to him from behind. 

Brian was more than pleased to see the light shade of pink dusting Jae’s ears. He claimed that that was because of the not-so-innocent pet name and sudden proximity, and not just by being surprised. It really was a good look on him.

“That was fast.” Jae commented, eyeing the food Brian slid in front of him with interest. “Wow Brian, this looks so good!”

Brian’s heart skipped a beat when Jae grabbed him by the arm in his enthusiasm.

 _Oh God, he has a surprisingly tight grip…_ Brian stored that delightful observation for later. 

Jae took a quick bite, closing his eyes to savor the taste before turning his head to look at Brian. With eyebrows raised and eyes widened a fraction, he sincerely told him, “Thank you for this. Really.”

“No need to thank me.” Brian replied, shrugging. “You bought this anyway.”

Jae’s grip on him loosened. Only for his hand to reach up and give Brian’s shoulder a few gentle pats. “I meant thank you for making this. And for sharing a product of your family recipe with all of us.”

A cutie and a sweetheart? 

That’s it. Game over. 

Brian was completely enamored, freely letting himself start to get attached to Jae hook, line, and sinker.

And because he couldn’t help it, he reached a hand out to ruffle the top of Jae’s hair, oh-so fond and adored.

His earlier suspicions were wrong. 

Jae’s hair actually felt a thousand times softer, smoother, and fluffier than the way it looks. His heart skipped a beat in his chest as Jae giggled in delight due to the simple touch. 

Brian was utterly whipped for this guy.

“I’ll be back with your mocha.” He planned his escape, chickening out before he lets his emotions take control of himself and he does something really stupid. “In the meantime, think of _other_ ways you can thank me before then. Be creative, okay?”

Jae gave out a surprised laugh, stopping Brian from leaving. “Are you usually this forward?”

 _He’s also direct and just as bold as me?_ Brian thought to himself in wonder after the other called him out. _Careful, Jae. Or I might just have to ask for your hand in marriage right here and now._

“That depends…” he responded, coy and challenging. 

Jae’s eyes adopted a glint. “On what?” 

“If it’s working.” He let his hand fall to rest on the side of Jae’s neck, caressing the skin with his thumb and using the lightest of touches. 

He saw Jae’s Adam’s apple bob up and down. 

Encouraged, Brian continued, “So, is it?”

Jae daringly met the intensity of his gaze. He covered Brian’s hand on his neck, tracing the lines on his palm with the tips of his fingers as he said, “Well, they did say that a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. You’re obviously on the right track.” 

With a gentle pinch on one of Brian’s burning cheeks, Jae finally let him go. Even throwing him two thumbs up as Brian returned behind the counter to prepare his drink. 

Brian was left reeling and dazed with giddiness.

Now, here was the thing that started his current problem with the article. The reason why Brian could be a bit of a self-saboteur sometimes, albeit obliviously… 

He really meant well. He just wanted Jae to have a great first experience with his café. But if he hadn’t been too distracted with their subtle flirting and coming up with more ways on how he could get closer to him, he would have properly read the additional details and instructions on Jae’s order. 

He wouldn’t have mistakenly put skimmed milk instead of soy milk. And he wouldn’t have purposefully added milk chocolate instead of the plain chocolate one they usually use for the coffee mocha. 

He personally thinks that the drink would taste better that way.

See, he just wanted to have what’s best for his favorite customer, right?

But alas, he was too excited and in a hurry to return back to Jae’s table and keep talking to him for him to realize all of his mistakes and the consequences that will surely come because of them.

(A fact that he wouldn’t get to know until much later on.)

After writing down his phone number on the back of Jae’s receipt, he carried it and the mug of coffee in a tiny tray back to his table.

“Aaand I’m back.” Brian announced, setting everything in front of Jae before taking the empty seat beside him. “Missed me?”

Jae just fondly shook his head at him with a smile. 

He picked up the mug and took a whiff of the coffee. Brian felt somehow proud to see that the plate of sandwich in front of the other was already halfway empty.

“Smells so _good…_ ” Jae breathed out before taking a generous sip of the drink. 

Brian held his breath as he waited. He knew that Jae was just joking about winning him over with food, but Brian really wanted to surprise and keep wowing him with them. They only met today but for some reason, Brian already values his opinion. Not to mention that he thought so highly of the other.

After taking a sip, Jae’s shoulders relaxed, sagging towards his body. 

He gave Brian an impressed look and said, “This tastes even better than it smells. Of course, what did I even expect when your sandwich was also perfect. I’m willing to bet everything you make is perfect.”

“If you think flattery will trick me into giving all of my food to you for free…” Brian playfully narrowed his eyes at him accusatively. “Then you’re completely succeeding because I love getting compliments.”

Jae threw his head back and laughed. 

Brian absolutely loved it whenever he did that. Jae is the type to laugh generously, he noticed. He wasn’t too conscious about the way he looked and sounded, just letting his delight freely show on his face. 

Brian found himself admiring him a little bit more.

“Compliments are my weakness too actually.” Jae admitted.

“Oh, well then,” Brian splayed his fingers on the table, counting off. “You’re cute and attractive, your smile warms my heart, your laugh is contagious, your hands are pretty, and you have the kindest eyes I’ve ever seen. How’s that for compliments?”

Jae gave out a light chuckle, flustered. He looked away from Brian’s piercing gaze, wrapping his fingers around the mug of coffee just to stop them from fidgeting. “Thank you for saying those things.” 

“You’re welcome, Jae.” Brian told him in earnest, a warm and pleasant smile gracing his lips as he watched rose tinge the other’s cheeks. 

He realized that he’d been doing that a lot ever since Jae walked into the café—smiling. He noticed that when talking to Jae, he just felt so light, bright, and happy.

A comfortable silence fell between them. Just two people enjoying and finding comfort in each other’s company even though it hadn’t been long since they’ve met for the first time. It should feel weird and so sudden, except that it doesn’t.

Everything felt just right, as if things were simply falling into place.

“Hey, Brian?” Jae’s gaze landed on his again, still just as warm and endearing.

“Yeah?”

“Since you’re the owner, can you spare some time to sit with me for a bit? I have a few questions about your food, this café, and… well, I also want to get to know you. But only if you’ll let me to, of course.”

“Only if I _let_ you?” Brian repeated with a chuckle. “Haven’t I been too obvious enough that I like you and would love to get to know you too?”

“Just wanted to make sure.” Jae grinned at him. After taking another drink of his coffee, he started, “Okay, so. About the cafe, have you always dreamt of owning one or—”

“Wait, before you continue,” Brian interrupted, looking apologetic as he gestured down at himself. “I’ll just change out of this uniform. Don’t want my other customers to think that the employees here are slacking off. Do you mind if I…” he trailed off, pointing with his thumb towards the backroom that says ‘Employees Only’ on the door.

“Oh, sure. Go ahead, Bri,”—Brian was floored by the nickname—“do your thing.” He said as he drank generous amounts of the mocha. “I’ll wait for you.”

Brian loved the sound of that. Much, much more than he probably should.

“I’ll be quick, I promise.” He gave the other’s arm a reassuring squeeze—it was more for him than Jae, really—before rushing back to their locker room.

He quickly took off his yellow apron and white polo top with the cafe logo. He rummaged his locker for what to wear, deciding between changing back into what he wore before coming to work or choosing the two other options he had in there. 

Upon quick glance, he easily disregarded his outfit from this morning. He wasn’t exactly planning on wowing someone when he got dressed earlier so he just chose an old and unflattering college tee. And even though Jae made it known that he’s already interested in Brian too, there was no harm in wanting to keep impressing him. 

After giving it a quick thought, he finally changed into a black, loose-fitting shirt that hugged his broad chest pretty nicely. Flaunt what you got, right? His floral white polo shirt would’ve looked nice too but he figured it wouldn’t go well with his faded blue skinny jeans.

He dumped his uniform into the bin before picking up his tiny hoop earrings and putting them on. Dowoon always told him he looked like a rising popstar whenever he wore them. You know, when he isn’t being a teasing jackass of a friend, that is.

He checked his reflection on the mirror attached to the door, studying his outfit from head to toe. He gave his black locks a comb-through, making his perfectly coiffed hair appear even more attractive, before finally going back out into the main room, giddy from excitement. This felt almost exactly like getting ready for a date.

He ignored Dowoon’s wiggling eyebrows as he told his two other employees working hard behind the counter that he’ll be busy for the rest of the day—hopefully, if things progressed. He eyed the growing line of customers behind the counter and the other tables almost completely occupied. 

He apologized for not helping out, as the cafe had gotten a whole lot busier since Jae got here, but they simply brushed him off. Telling him that they could handle it and for him to stop worrying and just enjoy whatever it is he was supposed to do.

Grateful, his guilt eased as he finally went back to his date.

Only to find Jae’s table empty.

 _What the…_

As Brian hesitantly sat back down on the chair he was sitting on, he decided to wait for a few minutes, thinking that Jae just went to the comfort room. 

But then, when he looked to the direction of said room, a different customer just got out of it. And since it’s a single-use type of comfort room, as his café isn’t exactly that big to require the one with many stalls, he started getting confused.

_Jae, where did you go?_

“Excuse me,” he tapped the shoulder of the woman on the table next to him. 

“Can I help you?” She asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.

“I’m sorry but, have you seen the guy I was here with?”

Recognition flashed before her eyes as she told him, “Oh, yeah. He just left. Seemed to be in a hurry actually.”

Brian thanked her before turning back to their table. 

Frowning, he felt his heart sink as he eyed the plate of half-eaten sandwich and the almost empty mug of coffee mocha. He tried to stay positive, thinking that maybe something just came up and he needed to leave. He’d probably reach out and explain soon enough. 

For sure, Jae didn’t mean to up and leave Brian high and dry. 

But then, Brian also saw Jae’s receipt on the table. The one that had his phone number. 

Jae left it there too, untouched.

Dejected and rejected, Brian crumpled the piece of paper in his hand. Jae didn’t seem like the type to just string Brian along, let him think that he had a chance, then book it just for fun. He didn’t expect that someone who looked as angelic as Jae would ever do that. He was probably laughing his head off at Brian somewhere far. To think that Brian told him he had the kindest eyes.

Brian hated this feeling.

Jae had been the first person to ever stand him up.

But what he hated the most was that he really thought they had a connection. 

_Guess not…_ he sighed to himself, putting the mug on top of the plate to make it easier for his employees to clean up afterwards. He didn’t have it in him to get back to work so he just walked out of his own cafe and went home to watch anime reruns and eat bags of chips for dinner.

They weren’t even remotely close to dating yet but Brian already felt like Jae just broke up with him.

  
  


“What are you sulking about now?” Dowoon’s voice pulls Brian’s thoughts back to the current reality. 

He’s back here at the café. Still sitting on one of the tables doing what he usually does before they’re open for the day.

Brian quickly locks his phone to hide the blog review. He hasn’t exactly shared with his friend about what happened yesterday. And he also certainly won’t tell him about Jae putting his cafe on blast like that.

First, because it’s embarrassing.

Second, Dowoon will just tease him again.

And third, what Jae did is just so rude and offensive that he didn’t want to dignify that by spreading the word to his friend.

_I can understand that he probably doesn’t like me back after all. But telling his readers that my café has a “tiny hint of poor service” for no reason is in a whole new level of being an asshole._

“Brian?” Dowoon prompts when he doesn’t get a response.

Brian gives him a quick, reassuring smile. “It’s nothing, Dowoon-ah. I, uh, I just saw someone tweeting us to sell cupcakes too. I told you long ago that it was a good idea.” He lies, knowing that the topic will surely distract Dowoon.

As expected, his friend bites into it.

Dowoon sighs as he wipes down the register before turning it on. “Not this again. You know those kinds of cutesy pastries—pies, cheesecakes, and whatnot—they don’t go well with our theme. And besides, most of our breads, sandwiches, and other baked snacks are doing so well, they almost always get sold out at the end of every day. I don’t think we need to add cupcakes to the mix. It just ruins our flavor profile and aesthetic, really.”

Brian holds in a smile. He actually agrees with everything his friend said. He just finds it amusing that Dowoon cares so much about these things enough to rant about them. They’ve already had this conversation plenty of times before, but his friend’s passion regarding the topic goes unwavering to this day. Brian practically has his arguments memorized.

But hey, at least his friend provides a good distraction. Even if it means having to keep hearing him go on and on about his favorite baked “snackies” (as he likes to call them).

“Fine, fine. You’re right.” He relents, feigning defeat. “Anyways, it’s opening time. Are we all good?” He faces the two other employees working the early morning shift.

“Yup.”

“Ready.” They tell him.

And with that, he finally stands from the table and adjusts the chair properly in place, before coming over to the door and flipping the sign to “OPEN”.

Usually, since it’s a little after 7am, not a lot of their customers consume their orders inside the café. Most just order take-outs of large cups of coffee, sometimes with a sandwich or two, to take to work. But since it is the weekend, early Sunday morning to be exact, their customers tend to be different. 

Early weekdays are for busy people rushing for work while people who just finished going for a run, mothers with kids in their strollers, and owners walking their dogs are the cafe’s regulars during weekend mornings.

And so, they are able to keep Brian busy and too distracted to keep thinking about Jae and what he wrote about his cafe. He still hasn’t read the entire thing. And now, after knowing who @eaJeats really is, he most definitely will _not_ read it. 

_He already embarrassed me enough._

Just then, as he’s finished handing another customer one of his famous limited croissant sandwiches over the counter—they don’t really deliver the orders to their table, yesterday was just a fluke and nothing more—he hears two Twitter notifications ring from his phone. Thinking that it’s from his personal account, he decides to see what it’s about.

After checking that he doesn’t have to do another order yet, he goes to check what it is.

Right as his phone recognizes his face, Brian reads the notifications in his lock screen. 

**Park Jaehyung** liked your Tweet

 **Park Jaehyung** Retweeted your Tweet

 _What…_

Brian opens the app to see if it’s real. And behold, as he visits Jae’s account, Young Koffee Brew’s latest tweet appears on top of his page. Right below that is Jae’s tweet from thirteen hours ago, linking people to his blog review.

_Is he still trying to mess with me?_

“Oh, look. Your loverboy is back.” Dowoon nudges Brian’s tummy with his elbow.

After the words register in his head, he gets a sinking feeling as he lifts his eyes from the phone and over to the café door.

Where Jae is smiling brightly at him with one of his hands raised in a wave.

As if nothing happened. As if he hasn’t left Brian high and dry yesterday. And as if he didn’t just put out a bad review of the café that further humiliated Brian.

Now he has the audacity to show his face and come back?

This is just too low.

Oblivious to Brian’s thoughts, Dowoon playfully asks him as they both watch Jae stand at the end of the line, “Want to switch places with me when Jae gets here? So that you can personally thank him for writing that review?”

He has half a mind to be surprised. “You read it too?” 

“Yeah. Bit of a clickbait title but the content is really good. This foodie approves…” he goes to say but unfortunately, Brian has already tuned him out.

See, if Brian hasn’t been too preoccupied with thinking of ways on how to give Jae a piece of his mind, he would’ve noticed that Dowoon’s words are sincere. That Jae’s review is actually something that Brian should be thankful for.

(Seriously, Brian should have read the whole thing. Now he’s about to do something stupid.)

“Sure, Dowoon-ah. I’d love to.” Brian cuts off whatever his friend was saying.

“Well, hurry and take my place then.” Dowoon instructs him, amused. “I’m impressed. You don’t seem as lovestruck as when you were yesterday. Playing hard to get this time?”

“No, I’m not.” Brian scoffed. “I just have something I need to say to him.”

“Ooh, a confession of love, maybe?” Dowoon teases, not picking up on the hidden meaning behind his words.

Brian decides to ignore him as he finally sees Jae approach the counter.

This time, Brian is prepared. So when Jae flashes him one of those bright and too friendly smiles, he knows better than to let himself believe it.

If yesterday, Brian planned to wow Jae, today is different.

Today, Brian will do whatever it takes to make him feel just as humiliated as he was after reading the headline of the review.

_I’ll show you what poor service really looks like…_


	2. but just in case you say yes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate how long I procrastinated finishing this last chapter :( for days, I put off writing Jae's blog review because I'm not well-versed and knowledgeable about foodie lingo/vernacular. I had to read a few food blogs to get the feel of it.
> 
> But anyways, here it is! Honestly, I couldn't wait to finish this so that I can finally focus all my attention on a much longer multichap. Enjoy! :)

“Hi, Jae! How can I help you?” Brian greets, feigning cheeriness and mirroring Jae’s bright smile.

“Good morning, Bribri. How are you today?” Jae asks him, his eyes blinking adorably. 

And Brian is annoyed at how easily his heart started to race because of it. 

_He left you. And then insulted your restaurant online. It’s just a nickname. Get over it, Kang!_

Gathering his resolve, Brian lets his fake smile dim a little as he says, “I can’t really chat right now. I’m kinda busy.” He gestures to the growing line behind Jae.

“Oh, right. I’m sorry.” He scratches the back of his head, suddenly self-conscious. 

Again, Brian questions why he doesn’t feel as satisfied as he thought he’d feel. If anything, he feels bad for being the reason to make Jae lose his pretty smile.

Clearing his throat, Jae continues, “I guess I’ll just have the same as yesterday.” Brian watches as Jae starts to play with his fingers on the counter, merely inches from where his own left hand is resting.

“Huh?” He asks, distracted.

He hears Jae let out a quick chuckle, breaking him from whatever trance Jae’s beautiful hands have put him in. 

“For my order.” Jae clarifies, trying to meet his gaze.

“Of course,” Brian responds, making himself appear busy as he punches in the order. 

He’s willing himself to appear unfazed that he just got caught staring. He doesn’t know if it’s working though.

“Oh, actually, wait.” The other interrupts, reaching a hand out to gently grab Brian’s wrist.

He freezes where he stands, having to remind himself to fucking _Keep it together!_

Subtly, he pulls his hand closer to his body and away from the touch. He almost visibly sighs in relief after Jae seems to get the message and lets him go.

“What?” He asks his now least favorite customer.

He’s a little proud of himself for being a lot less friendly with the tone. 

“Rather than the coffee mocha, can I have a plain coffee instead?”

“Okay, what kind of coffee?” His reply is in monotone now, fully setting his plan into motion.

“One iced americano, please. Don’t want a repeat of what happened yesterday now, do we?” He has the audacity to send Brian a playful wink.

As if Brian’s supposed to know what it’s for. As if he’s in on the joke.

Ignoring the gesture, Brian just does as he’s told. Curtly, he tells Jae the total price and after getting handed the payment—with him making sure not to let their touch linger even when he’s pretty certain that that was what Jae intended to do—he vaguely directs Jae to any of the open tables. Silently telling him to leave. And ending their interaction just like that.

And if the sudden flash of disappointment on Jae’s face is anything to go by, Brian tells himself that it’s what he wanted. His plan is surely working. He _should_ feel happy, right?

Shrugging off the unpleasant feeling in his gut, he reminds himself why he’s doing this in the first place.

He got stringed along, got his hopes up, and only to be painfully left hanging and humiliated. Then, his café—his most prized possession—was put on blast online for thousands of old and new potential customers to see. And if that wasn’t enough, the very same person who did all those things had the gall to show his face again as if he did nothing wrong. Walking back in here with that pretty and adorable smile of his, expecting Brian to fall for it again.

No. Brian will be damned if he lets himself get fooled by Jae twice.

Gathering his resolve, he looks back at Dowoon to tell him to switch stations again.

He ignores the teasing lift of his friend’s eyebrows as he starts personally preparing all of Jae’s orders.

 _No, Dowoon._ He wants to tell him. _This isn’t me flirting. This is me trying to get Jae out of my sight and out of my café. Hopefully for good._

And so when he’s walking out from behind the counter and towards where Jae is seating at a corner table, he feels so amped and ready to just get this over with.

_Poor service, my ass._

“Here.” He places Jae’s orders a little too forcefully and loudly on the tabletop, startling the other.

He sees Jae eyeing what he brought before a confused frown stretches over his face. “I… didn’t order for a takeout, Bri.”

“It’s Brian.” He firmly corrects. “And I know.”

“So then why?” Jae gestures questioningly at the takeout bag and a paper carrier with his drink in front of him.

“Because I want you to leave.”

Unfortunately, Jae doesn’t fully register the intent behind his words. “But I’m free for the rest of the day, Bribr— I mean, Brian. I was hoping you could sit with me again, talk for a while, and continue where we left off.”

Brian scoffs in incredulity. _The nerve of this guy…_

“Well I don’t want to.” Is what he replies, the edge in his tone unmistakable. He picks up the items on the table only to thrust them towards Jae’s grasp. Praying he’ll finally get the message that Brian is so rudely trying to tell him. “Can you please just leave? And never come back here while you’re at it?”

Jae looks shocked and crestfallen as his eyes flit over Brian’s features, confusion slowly transitioning into hurt. “But… what about yesterday? I honestly thought we were—”

“Well you thought wrong.” Brian is quick to cut him off. 

“Brian,” Jae grabs him by the arm. Almost reminiscent of what he did just yesterday. But no matter how much Brian’s heart flutters because of the simple touch, he’s not letting himself fall for it again. “What’s wrong? Did I do something? Please tell me so that I can apologize and make it up to you.”

The question only pisses Brian off more. “What’s the point of making it up to me when I just really don’t want to see you again?” Pulling his arm away, he repeats, “Please leave. Seriously. Before you start embarrassing yourself.”

To that, Jae sees the other customers sitting close enough to hear their conversation are slowly eyeing them in curiosity, and with growing irritation for causing a small commotion on this fine Sunday morning. 

He quickly averts his gaze and instead looks down to his lap where his orders now sit. 

He tells himself Jae’s only upset because Brian beat him to the curb. That Brian set his foot down on not letting Jae have all the fun in playing with him. As if by being here again, Jae came back for seconds.

He ignores the way Jae’s sad eyes cut through the anger that he’s feeling, making way for an undeniable amount of guilt to eat at him.

He wants to give exactly what Jae gave him yesterday—humiliation. And now that he’s getting what he planned for, why did he hold himself back for saying all the worst things he can think of? Why does he feel _so bad_ doing this?

 _Am I that weak? Does Jae already have me wrapped around his fingers after just exchanging sweet words and beautiful smiles?_ Brian’s too scared to know the answer.

Without uttering another word, afraid he might take it all back, Brian finally turns his back on Jae. 

And not a moment later, he hears the sound of a chair scraping against the hardwood floors followed by the sound of footsteps heading farther away. He doesn’t need to look back to confirm that Jae heeded his words and left.

There really is no turning back at this point. 

Let Jae doubt himself about what he did to deserve this treatment. Ask himself repeatedly of what went wrong. Just like how the very same thoughts kept Brian awake the night before. 

See how _he_ likes it.

With a heavy sigh, Brian returns to his place behind the counter.

Only to be met by his friend’s pointedly questioning look that’s tinged with judgment around the edges. 

“What is it this time?” Brian asks Dowoon as he busies himself with cleaning up his utensils from when he prepared Jae’s sandwich order—still made it so carefully and attentively for his least favorite customer, if he’s being completely honest.

Since there’s no longer a queue on the other side of the counter, Dowoon is free to admonish Brian.

“What just happened? Why did Jae suddenly leave looking like that?” Dowoon leans his hip against the edge of Brian’s work station. “He looked like you just told him his dog died and then broke up with him. What the hell did you tell him?”

Brian shrugs. “What he needed to hear.”

“And that is?”

Keeping his tone casual and unbothered, he answers, “That if he has any sense of decency left in him, he should think twice about going back and showing his face to this cafe again.”

Suddenly, he hears a gasp escape from Dowoon’s lips.

“That’s so rude, hyung!” Dowoon smacks him on the arm. “Why would you even say that to him?”

He gives his friend an incredulous look. “Because he wrote us a bad review for no reason!”

“A bad what?” Dowoon repeats, looking lost and confused. “Wait, is this about his blog review about Young Koffee?”

“What else would it be?” Brian rolls his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.

“But, why did you kick him out of here?” He’s starting to hear the frustration rising in Dowoon’s tone. “If anything, we should be thanking him and feeding him free food!”

At this, Brian cocks an eyebrow at the other, feeling offended. “Wha— Why would we…” he stammers, “He said we have poor service, Dowoon-ah! Why would we thank him for that?”

Dowoon gapes at him. “Don’t tell me you didn’t read the entire article…” 

Feeling caught, Brian looks away from his friend’s sudden intense gaze. 

Mumbling, he says, “I read the first part a little bit,” and in a quieter voice, he finishes, “and then I skimmed the rest.”

“Oh God, hyung…” he glances at him again only to see Dowoon repeatedly smacking his palm against his forehead. 

“What?” Brian starts to feel like he needs to defend himself. “The parts that I did read are more than enough to know that he put our cafe under a bad light. And honestly, I was insulted. I have been nothing but nice to him. Too nice, in fact.”

Dowoon looks like he isn’t buying any of Brian’s words at all. “Are you this offended because you _thought_ he insulted the cafe, or is it really because it was only _you_ who served him yesterday? That you feel like he was pertaining solely to _you_ and your so-called ‘poor service’.”

Again, Brian hates how much his friend knows him. And is never afraid to point out his shortcomings. He feels like there’s no way he can escape this with his dignity unscathed, so he decides to tell the truth.

“Alright, I was hurt, okay?” He admits, sighing heavily. “Frankly, I thought we were getting along well. I really liked him and I thought the feeling was mutual. We were hitting it off. He even asked me to sit with him so that we can get to know each other more. But then, I leave for a few minutes to change out of this uniform, only to see that he’s gone and left me hanging. He didn’t even take his receipt with my phone number written on the back with him. He really just left. And then he goes online to tell his fifty-thousand Twitter followers that my cafe has bad service? That is _such_ a dick move.”

“Look,” Dowoon lays a comforting hand on Brian’s left shoulder. “I get you. I understand what all of this looks like from your perspective. But, hyung… please. For yours and Jae’s sake too, read the entire article. Please. Then you’ll know that we actually kind of deserve that ‘poor service’ part of the review.”

Brian frowns. He’s afraid to ask but seeing Dowoon’s firm and resolute expression tells him that he’s missing something important here. 

“What do you mean?” He asks carefully.

“Jae’s allergic to dairy.” His friend informs him. “I know that because when he was paying for his order, and while you were busy preparing his sandwich, he kindly asked me for an additional instruction to put soy milk instead of skimmed milk on his drink. And to use cocoa for his mocha. But in the article, he said he thinks what he got was milk chocolate instead.”

Brian suddenly feels frozen. It’s as if ice cold water has been poured down the back of his shirt, dousing him with shame for an entirely different reason than last time.

 _No, no, no. This can’t be real. I wouldn’t make a mistake like that. No._ He repeats to himself. 

But as the more he thinks about it, the more he remembers everything so vividly. He recalls wanting “only the best for his favorite customer” so, instead of paying attention to the specifications in Jae’s orders, he decided to take the reins. This is his coffee shop so he knows the few tricks and tweaks to make every order just exceptionally better and more special. 

Aside from the usual amount, he added more of the skimmed milk and the creamy, milk chocolate because those are what he personally likes to have in his coffee mocha. And he wanted Jae to have a taste of that too. He was so focused on wanting to impress him that he unknowingly became the mastermind of his own destruction. He had the best intentions in mind but unfortunately, they’re not always followed by great outcomes. 

And poor, innocent Jae didn’t deserve the way Brian treated him at all.

 _“Did I do something?”_ Brian’s heart lurches in his chest as he remembers the look Jae gave him. _“Please tell me so that I can apologize and make it up to you.”_

He looked just as hurt and confused as Brian was from yesterday.

_I should be the one saying those words to him. Not the other way around…_

Seeing the shift in Brian’s demeanor, Dowoon continues, “In the article, I think he even lied and took the blame for your mistake, saying it was probably his fault that there had been a slight confusion with his order. And then he proceeded to sing praises to your croissant sandwiches.”

“No, no, no, no, no.” Brian looks to his friend for help. “Dowoon-ah, what do I do? I fucked up, big time. I was so mean to him. Oh God. I’m such an idiot, I need to make it up to him. But,” he pauses, groaning as he remembers all the things he said, “shit, how can I even apologize when he probably won’t show his face to me ever again?”

The sadness in Jae’s eyes flashes in his mind. He feels his heart twist almost painfully because of it.

He appeals to his friend once more. “Dowoon-ah, what can I do?”

Dowoon sighs, exasperatedly fond of Brian’s pleas. “What you should have done. Read the entire thing first. Start from there. And when you’re finished, let’s talk about how you can try to make it up to him.” 

With that, Dowoon finally returns to his station behind the cashier just as a new customer steps onto the other side of the counter. And Brian is left alone to deal with this newfound and gut-wrenching guilt. 

Excusing himself, he disappears into the backroom. He lets himself sink into the couch as he unlocks his phone and goes straight to Jae’s Twitter profile.

His heart clenches to see that the retweet from their café’s account is still the most recent one at the top of Jae’s profile. 

Heaving a sigh, he scrolls down to look for the link to his blog. 

It’s time for him to set things right.

  
  


**_“Great food & drinks, good ambiance, and… with a tiny hint of poor service?”_ **

_Let me start with the basics before we fully dive into my experience at the new talk-of-the-town coffee shop. I visited Young Koffee Brew this Saturday at around five in the afternoon before heading home from a quick work outing. I initially planned to just take my orders to-go but when I got there, that plan went out the window almost immediately._

_Now, despite the title of this article, I would like everyone who’s reading this review to know that Young Koffee Brew is such a beautiful and pleasant surprise. I therefore declare that it is now my new favorite café and let me tell you all the reasons why._

**_Good ambiance._ **

_If these pictures I have attached in here are not enough to tell you how beautiful their interior is, I don’t know how else to convince you. To be fair, these shots don’t do the place much justice. You all need to visit the coffee shop to see for yourselves._

_The vinyls on the walls, the different sets of tables and chairs, the soft fairy lights sparsely webbing across the ceiling. Wherever you look, there’s something to catch your attention._

_Everything is so unique and interesting. Nothing matches and yet nothing is too random. Every piece of decoration and furniture all come together to somehow unify the space. I’d love to stay there for hours on end if I could._

_And the music playing through the speakers? What a perfect icing on the cake. From Westlife to Queen to Savage Garden? The 90s nostalgia is such a huge serotonin boost._

**_Great drinks._ **

_For those who just found out about my blog, or that the widely famous Young Koffee brought you to this humble page of mine, I would like to reiterate, also as a disclaimer of sorts, that I have a dairy allergy. Now, before you ask why I’m doing food and restaurant reviews when my palate has limitations, ask yourself first if you’re willing to let something small hinder you from chasing your passion._

_And food is my passion. Sure, I work a boring office job as an editor for a sports magazine, but having this blog as a hobby makes it all worth it._

_Eating the best kinds of food is meant to give you an experience, not just sustenance._

_That being said, the coffee mocha I got from Young Koffee is unsurprisingly one of the best I’ve ever had. The heady aroma of it, combined with the creamy and frothy texture? Chef’s kiss!  
_

_It’s like the quintessential version of such a classic drink. Perfecto._

_Although, it needed to be addressed. What I meant with the_ **_“tiny hint of poor service”_ ** _in the title was that they, unfortunately, got my order wrong. I didn’t get soy milk and got milk chocolate instead. Though it was just the teeny tiniest bit of detail that was overlooked, I think I was partly at fault too for being distracted by someone that I haven’t made my order clear enough. And the café was also packed with customers that time so really, it’s understandable. My stomach might disagree, but my heart is willing to risk another stomach ache for it. My order was just_ that _good._

_(Sorry for the TMI, LOL)_

**_Great food._ **

_Oh man, guise. I don’t usually gush about the food most coffee shops offer because most of the time, there’s nothing quite special about them. You know, nothing that sets them apart from the others. And no, I’m not holding that against cafés. After all, coffees and drinks are and should be their main selling points. But just after one glance at Young Koffee’s surprisingly varied baked goods and sandwich selections, my mouth watered._

_From baguettes to bagels, sandwiches to vegan selections, and from éclairs to crème brûlées. They almost have it all. Their food menu together with their overall rustic aesthetic are such a strong magnetic force for hipsters, artists, and artisans alike._

_No, all the food doesn’t just look pretty and pleasing to the eye. After trying one, I can most definitely tell you that they taste even better than the way they look._

_I got one of their special batch of croissant sandwiches. You may be curious, ‘what’s so special about that?’ Well then, I will gladly explain._

_The owner told me that the recipes for most of their food came from his family four generations ago. And since then on, they have all been repeatedly improved almost to the point of perfection._

_At that first bite, you can feel the most satisfying hint of crunch from the bread itself. And when you get into the inside, it’s such a huge contrast. It’s so soft and almost airy but still delectably delicious and filling. Not too salty, nor too sweet. Just the perfect balance of them._

_When a food is made out of love and passion, you can really taste and feel it seeping through your mouth._

_And honestly, as I’m writing this, I can’t already wait to get back to Young Koffee Brew._

_I give them all the stars in the universe and more._

_P.S.: Mr. Brian Young-owner-of-Young-Koffee, if you’re reading this, I owe you a meal or two. I’m such a big fan of you and your food!_

  
  


Groaning, Brian runs his hands over his face in frustration. He fucked up. He almost had something good in his hands and he ruined it immediately. 

This is pretty much a thinly-veiled love letter written for his café. 

Dowoon was right. Despite the fact that Brian pretty much triggered his dairy allergy, Jae still sang praises to his food. 

_And that was how I repaid him? By kicking him out of said café and telling him never to return again?_

He really fucked up.

For the next few minutes, he just sits there to mull over everything that happened. He stares up at the ceiling, hoping the answer to his predicament will magically appear if he looked long enough. But alas, he put himself into this mess so he needs to do something to get out of it. 

And maybe if he plays his cards right, he might still get a new boyfriend out of it too. Or, at the very least, a new friend if he’s lucky.

 _Oh, who am I kidding?_ Brian backtracks, sighing in defeat. _He probably hates me now for humiliating him like that._

Still, he tries to gauge him out. 

Picking his phone up from where he tossed it earlier on the other side of the couch, Brian logs back into the coffee shop’s Twitter account. There, he clicks the ‘Follow’ button in _@eaJeats_ ’ profile then proceeds to retweet Jae’s tweet containing the link to his blog review.

After that, he logs into his personal account to once again stalk Jae’s tweets. He follows Jae with it as well, hoping that the other will recognize who _@kangbribri__ really is. After all, he did call Brian with that same nickname on both days they’ve seen each other. 

He starts liking tweets that have song recommendations on them. Which then pretty much escalated into him just liking almost all of the other tweets that made him smile. Even though most of them are self-deprecating jokes, mostly aimed to make fun of himself that Brian most certainly doesn’t agree with, Brian can still appreciate how these tweets give him a better idea of Jae’s personality. 

Now he can’t help but wonder that if this was the other way around, what will Jae think of him through the snippets provided by his own tweets? Whereas Jae’s page is full of vast song recommendations and artistic shots of food and various landscapes, Brian’s is full of pictures of his closest friends and family, and random poetic lines and lyrics he wrote right off the top of his head.

Then he realizes, him and Jae aren’t that much different from each other. 

At least from what he’s seen of Jae online, they both pretty much wear their hearts on their sleeves. Just like what food, music, and travel photography are for Jae, Brian only shares the things most important to him too. He got his love for food from his family and songwriting is something that he just picked up on his own as he was growing up. His beautiful words are scattered all over his timeline along with rants about his cooking experiments—both failed outcomes and otherwise.

Gathering his bravery, he slides into Jae’s DMs. He has half a mind to feel flustered by the mere gesture.

**_Kang Younghyun_ ** _@kangbribri_:_

 _Hi, Jae, my chatty-but-cute-customer.  
_ _It’s me. Brian._

He hopes that appealing to Jae’s humor by referencing their inside joke will do the trick.

_Look, I’m really sorry about the things I said earlier.  
_ _If you’ll give me the chance, I would very much love to personally explain myself.  
_ _And hopefully to make it up to you too.  
_ _So… yeah.  
_ _I’d understand if you don’t want to speak to me again.  
_ _But it would really mean the world to me if you do._

Sighing, Brian loses count of how many times he reread the messages he sent. He keeps going back and forth on whether or not he should add more, or apologize again for suddenly flooding him with these. Figuring that this is enough—for now—he finally exits out of Jae’s DMs to go back to his profile.

Afterwards, he doesn’t know how long he’s spent stalking Jae’s Twitter account _and_ blog page, waiting for any sign of the other to start noticing Brian’s attempts to get his attention, when he sees Dowoon entering the breakroom. 

“You done?” Dowoon asks while opening his locker to retrieve his packed lunch.

The sight of his friend’s favorite ‘snackies’ lets Brian know that he’s been in here for too long, sulking because he still hasn’t gotten a response.

He shows Dowoon the messages he sent displayed on the screen of his phone as an answer to his question. 

“And?” His friend prompts, taking the empty space beside him.

“Still nothing.” He rests his head against the back of the couch again. “And apparently, it’s been more than two hours already. That’s it. He hates me. He’s never going to talk to me again. I ruined something that has a huge potential of being good for me.”

He feels Dowoon gently patting him on the knee as he says, “Don’t say that. Maybe he’s just busy or something. I’m sure he’s more than curious to know what you have to say so sooner or later, he’ll get back to you too.”

Brian nods in agreement. “I hope you’re right.”

“Oh,” Dowoon starts, his voice adapting a reprimanding tone. “And don’t bombard his Twitter account with more messages, okay?”

“I won’t, I won’t!” Brian feels like he’s being scolded by one of his parents with the way Dowoon is squinting his eyes in warning right now.

“Promise me you’ll be patient.”

Sighing, he says, “I promise. I’ll wait for as long as it takes.”

However, the rest of Sunday has come and gone, which then stretched into the entire following week without so much as getting another word from Jae. 

For the past five days, he’s been sulking and feeling gloomy constantly throughout the hours he decides to help out at his café. There will be times when he’s incredibly tempted to just go home and sleep, or play video games and rest, but there’s always that nagging thought in his head that what if Jae returns and he’s not there. What if that is all the second chance Jae decides to give him and he isn’t there to take it? 

It’s always the same “what if” that has kept him rooted firmly in the café from start to closing time.

For all of those five days, he also stayed glued to his phone.

It is currently late Friday evening now and instead of going to sleep like usual, he’s reading through Jae’s food and restaurant reviews. He started from the most recent ones before working his way back to the older posts on his blog. He likes reading these for a number of reasons.

One, because he can hear Jae’s voice in his head through these words. Can hear the slight mumbles around the edges of some syllables. And Brian can almost pinpoint the tone in which he would use to say certain commentaries in these texts. Or at least, how he imagines Jae to say these things based on the short but meaning flirtations and encounters they’ve had so far—including the not-so-pleasant ones.

Two, these posts actually introduced a lot of brilliant and interesting restaurants to Brian. He even linked some of them to Dowoon, especially the ones he knows a foodie like his friend will appreciate.

And three, the way Jae talks about all of this is so fascinating to Brian. His enthusiasm within these words is so contagious that Brian finds himself wanting to reciprocate Jae’s emotions in all of them. When Jae was mildly complaining about a certain restaurant that didn’t live up to expectations, Brian felt himself wanting to take him to his favorite sushi place instead just to make him feel better. 

He appreciates how engaging Jae is to his readers too, replying to some of the questions and comments under all of his posts, and even sharing a tip or two on how to spend less at a place but still get pretty much the same amount of servings.

Brian is now at the second page of Jae’s blog posts when suddenly, a Twitter notification slides down from the top of his screen. At first he didn’t pay it any mind, too focused on reading Jae’s post about a certain burger store, when he catches sight of what it is about.

_Park Jaehyung sent you a message._

He almost drops his phone on his face.

Brian scrambles to sit up in bed as he quickly clicks the alert.

**_Park Jaehyung_ ** _@eaJeats:_

 _I’m confused.  
_ _Is this some sort of a new flirting game or tactic?_

Brian is about to reply almost immediately when he sees that Jae is still typing.

And so, he waits.

_Because if it is, I don’t think I’m up for it.  
_ _I’m sorry, Brian. You’re really gorgeous and all but I don’t think I can keep up with…  
_ _Whatever game it is that you’re playing._

His heart pounds loudly in his chest. 

This is it. After waiting for a week, Jae has finally responded to him.

Brian plans to make sure that he will at least convince Jae to see him again after this conversation. Even if it’s just for him to personally explain his side and nothing more.

**_Kang Younghyun_ ** _@kangbribri_:_

 _Oh my God, Jae. I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am.  
_ _I promise I’m not playing any games. Especially not with you.  
_ _I’m really sorry that I’ve been so rude and confusing.  
_ _If you’ll let me, I’d love to treat you to any food and drink in my cafe.  
_ _I know it seems like a cheap shot, but I know how much you liked my croissant sandwiches so I figured why not.  
_ _I’ll explain everything over a cup of coffee or two.  
_ _Please come back to the cafe, Jae._

Before Brian can start to overanalyze about whether or not adding that last bit was a little too much, Jae’s replies cut through his worries. Easily stealing all of his attention once more.

**_Park Jaehyung_ ** _@eaJeats:_

 _Alright.  
_ _You had me at free food and drinks.  
_ _I’ll stop by tomorrow afternoon.  
_ _See you then, Mr. Brian Young-owner-of-Young-Koffee.  
_

The instant relief that floods Brian’s entire body feels so pleasant and freeing. Laying back down, he re-reads Jae’s messages to him for a few times as he stares up at his phone with a bright and happy smile.

 _Okay, so he doesn’t hate me after all._ He commits these texts to memory. Figuratively and literally as he screen captures the current display on his phone to save for later. 

Encouraged, Brian doesn’t even hesitate to keep up their playful banter.

**_Kang Younghyun_ ** _@kangbribri_:_

_By the way, I never got to properly thank you!_

**_Park Jaehyung_ ** _@eaJeats:_

 _About what, Bri?  
_ _Also, am I allowed to call you that again?_

Brian can’t help but smile, warmth spreading through his cheeks.

_You can call me whatever you want ;)_

_You’re such a flirt, Bribri._

_What, you don’t like it?_

_I never said that.  
_ _Please keep doing it._

It takes a few minutes before Brian is able to come up with a proper response. He was too busy burying his face against the pillows, feeling flustered yet so increasingly adored.

_Brian, you still there?_

_Yes!  
_ _Sorry, you just gave me a heart attack_

_Consider that as payback for you being so mean to me last time haha_

_I really, really, really am sorry, Jae!  
_ _I’d love to just explain everything here now, but then I won’t have an excuse for you to come see me tomorrow.  
_ _Forgive me?_ 🥺🥺🥺

_It’s cool! I was just joking :)  
_ _Of course, I forgive you  
_ _You’re too cute to say no to.  
_ _Hey, you know what?  
_ _We haven’t known each other for long but  
_ _I can’t stay mad at you for some reason._

Brian doesn’t have to check. He already knows his face is pretty much as red as a tomato. It’s like the rest of him can’t even catch up with how fast his heart is beating.

_You think I’m cute?_ 🙈

_Of all the things I said  
_ _That’s what you picked up?  
_ 💀

_Of course_ 😇

_You’re really something else, Brian._

_Is that insult?_ 😅

_Nooo  
_ _I meant it as a complimen_ _t_ 😗

_It didn’t sound like that though :(_

_Oh, sorry.  
_ _Let me try again  
_ 🥰 _You’re_ 😚 _really_ 🤩 _something_ 😍 _else,_ 😻 _Brian._ 😘😘💗💞💛🖤💕

Brian’s loud and bright laughters echo inside his room.

_There. You happy?_

_Very_ 🥰  
😳😘👀👅👉🏼👌🏼💦🍆🍑🖤💞

_MR BRIAN KNAG  
_ _WHAT ARE THOSE EMOJIS FOR_

_What  
_ _That’s just me being happy :)  
😇_

_Dear Jesus, Bri  
_ _I feel like you’re gonna be the death of me_

_Don’t worry, I won’t let that happen :)  
_ _I still have to make it up to you tomorrow._

_You’re right  
_ _And speaking of tomorrow  
_ _I’d love to keep talking to you  
_ _But I really have to go to sleep now, Bri  
_ _I have to conduct an early morning interview in a few hours_ 💀

Brian looks at the time only to see that it is already half past two in the morning. He didn’t realize how long he’d spent reading through Jae’s blog posts and then talking to the man himself until now.

_Of course, Jae :)  
_ _Get some much needed beauty sleep_

_I’m planning on it  
_ _Not everyone can be as effortlessly beautiful as you, Brian_

_You think I’m effortlessly beautiful?_

_See?  
_ _I knew that’s what you’re going to say_

_Hahaha  
_ _Am I getting too predictable now?_

_Of course not :)  
_ _I guess I’m just starting to get to know you a little bit better_

A warm smile lightens up Brian’s features. He likes the sound of that a little too much.

_Anyways, I really have to go now  
_ _Good night, Bribri_

_Good night, Jaehyungie!_

After he sees Jae reacting a heart to his last message, Brian finally puts his phone down beside himself. He heaves a blissful sigh as he stares up at the ceiling with a twinkle in his eyes almost permanently plastered to his face.

Just when he was beating himself up for ruining the start of something beautiful with Jae, the universe certainly has a way of surprising him.

And so, as sleep claims him a little later, after spending a couple of minutes going through their exchange, Brian feels lighter and calmer. He now knows for sure that Jae doesn’t hate him—can’t even stay mad at him, as Jae said. He finally gives himself permission to freely imagine what it would be like to hold Jae in his arms, wanting nothing more than to get to know him a little deeper too. 

  
  


However, Saturday afternoon came and Jae still hasn’t returned to the coffee shop. After Brian’s initial excitement earlier this morning, even choosing to go to the café after lunch instead so that he’d have enough time to prepare, his hopes had slowly but surely left him the closer they got to closing time.

He has sent messages to Jae in the last few hours, asking where he is, but Jae never replied nor read any of them.

Brian can’t help but think that maybe, _just_ maybe, this is the other’s way of getting back at him. That their conversation from late last night was just Jae pretending to make Brian none the wiser. 

_So, he really does hate me…_ Brian thinks to himself with a heavy sigh. He’s currently behind the counter, his elbow propped on top of the register and with his face resting on his hand. 

He chances another glance at the clock right above the cafe door only to see that there’s only forty-five minutes left until closing. At this point, he tells himself it’s fine. That he deserves this for being so mean to Jae. But still, that thought doesn’t stop him from feeling upset.

He’s even thankful that their number of customers are waning now so that he can sulk freely and avoid having to put on a fake friendly face all the time.

“Hyung, it’s okay.” Dowoon appears by his side all of a sudden, giving him gentle pats in the back. “You already did your part. You apologized. We can’t do anything about it now if he decides not to accept it.”

Standing straight back up, he turns and leans his lower back to rest against the counter. He faces Dowoon to flash him a weak but grateful smile. “I know, Dowoon-ah. I just can’t help but think that if I hadn’t been such an idiot last week, Jae and I are probably together right now.”

“That’s… confident.” Dowoon teases lightly to lighten the mood.

Brian chuckles a little. “I mean, I really, _really_ like him so of course I’d do anything to—”

“Hyung.” Dowoon interrupts him, his voice sounding urgent as he glances to somewhere behind Brian. Curious, Brian tries to follow his gaze but Dowoon’s firm grip on his shoulders stops him. “Don’t panic, okay?”

“Why would you tell me that but give no context? Of course, I’m gonna panic!”

“Shh!” His friend shushes him. With a noticeably quieter voice, he tells Brian, “He’s finally here. Act cool.”

Brian’s eyes widen as soon as he registers the words. He quickly straightens his posture and runs a hand through his hair in a poor attempt to make himself presentable. His heart starts to pound loudly inside his chest as he hears the sound of soft footsteps against the hardwood floor get louder and closer.

“Don’t ruin things again, okay?” Dowoon whispers before letting him go.

 _This kid, really… What kind of a pep-talk is that?_ Under normal circumstances, Brian would have laughed fondly at his friend’s frankness. Too bad he’s too busy feeling excited and nervous to do anything else but fidget.

Not a moment too soon, Brian faces the counter again just in time as Jae stops on the other side of it.

“You came!” Is what he says first, unable to keep the relief from affecting his tone.

“I’m sorry for being late, Bri.” Jae tells him, catching his breath a little. “There had been a mix-up with schedules back at the office so I had to conduct multiple interviews the whole day. I came here as fast as I could, I’m really sorry.”

Brian’s smile doesn’t waver in his lips. “It’s totally fine. What matters to me is that you’re here now.” His heart flutters to see Jae sighing in relief, his tense posture relaxing after hearing those words. As if he himself was worried about Brian being mad at him too. 

“So,” Jae starts, meeting his gaze as his own fingers inch closer to Brian’s on top of the counter. “I believe I was promised free food…”

“Of course, choose any and as many as you want.” He gestures to what’s left of their food selections for the day. “And as for your drink, I promise I won’t mess it up this time.” 

Jae barks out a delighted laugh before saying, “Then I’ll have whatever you recommend. I know I’ll love them no matter what.”

“Alright, sir.” He tells him with a wink, playful. “I’ll have your orders ready immediately.”

And true to his words, merely five minutes later, Brian is taking the empty seat opposite Jae on one of the tables by the corner. He places two steaming cups of flat white coffee, Dowoon’s rec, and a plate of the same croissant sandwich that Jae kept singing praises of in his blog review.

At the sight of it, Jae’s eyes widen almost comically. “But I thought these were all sold out?” He asks, picking it up and sighing in contentment after a quick bite.

Brian watches him fondly as he shares, “I saved some for you, actually. I know how much you loved them.”

“Thank you so much, Bribri.” With a voice muffled from chewing, Jae pouts cutely at him.

“It’s the least I could do.” Brian replies, bringing his own cup towards his lips to take a sip. “After what I did to you.”

“Oh, yeah. About that,” Jae tilts his head in question, “what happened back then, Brian? Did I do something wrong?”

Leaning towards the table, Brian is quick to assure him. “No, no. It was all my fault.” He released a heavy breath before continuing. “You see, after you left so suddenly Saturday last week, I thought you were just playing tricks with me. You asked me to sit with you for a while, talk, and maybe get to know each other but then I was under the impression that you left me hanging. I felt so down and disappointed. I really thought we had a genuine connection back then.”

“But we really did, right?” Jae cuts in, suddenly looking unsure of himself. “We still have a connection… right? I mean, I hope I didn’t just imagine our conversation last night.”

“Oh, we do! Most definitely.” Brian reaches across the table to lay a hand on top of Jae’s, stopping his fingers from fidgeting nervously. “What I meant was, I didn’t know that I accidentally triggered your dairy allergy that’s why you had to leave. And so, the next morning, when I read the title in your blog review… you know, the “with a hint of poor service” part?”

“Ah…” Jae nods his head in understanding. “Now I get it.”

“I honestly thought I did nothing wrong to deserve that phrase and that you were just being a dick on purpose. Plus, I didn’t read the whole thing immediately because I was hurt.” He gives the other a rueful smile. “So when you came back again, I kind of didn’t want to see you so soon. I thought you did that just to spite me. So, yeah… I’m sorry, Jae. Really.”

On the table, Jae turns his hand so that his palm is facing upward before wrapping his fingers around Brian’s. “Honestly, Bri. It was just a misunderstanding after all. No need to keep apologizing.” He gives Brian’s hand a gentle squeeze.

Brian can’t help but admire how perfectly their hands fit together, and how beautiful it is that Jae’s slender fingers are a complete contrast to his stubby ones.

Jae continues, “If anything, I’m the one who should apologize for writing the title like that. Do you want me to change it?” At this, he brings his other hand to join in, easily enveloping Brian’s.

Brian melts with the way Jae’s thumb starts caressing his palm. He’s such a sucker for physical touch, both sensual and platonic, so this one right here? His heart is pretty much thriving with all of it.

“You don’t have to.” He replies, splaying his fingers before intertwining them with Jae’s. “I mean, I _have_ been absolutely careless with your order. I guess I was just too focused on trying to impress you.”

“You don’t have to try too hard with me, Bribri. You’re doing fine just by being you.”

Warmth spreads through Brian’s face because of those words. 

“Thank you, Jae…” He says in a timid voice, looking away from Jae, bashful and flustered.

Jae leans closer to the table to try to meet Brian’s gaze. 

With a voice heavy with fondness and amusement, he teases, “Have I successfully made Mr. Brian the-mildly-aggressive-flirt Kang _blush_?” 

“Shut up.” Brian playfully swats at Jae with his free hand, chuckling lightly. “You’re one to talk, Mr. Jae hard-to-get Park. You ignored my phone number last week when I gave it to you.”

“Wait, what?” A tiny frown creases Jae’s forehead in slight confusion. “You did?”

“Yes! I wrote it at the back of your receipt.”

“I honestly didn’t see it. I’m _so_ sorry.” He squeezes Brian’s hand again, pulling it closer to his side of the table.

Entranced, Brian stares as Jae starts playing with his fingers. “Seriously, we need to stop apologizing to each other too much.” He comments with a laugh.

“Will I be forgiven if I ask for your number now?” Jae surprises him with the question.

Letting go of his hand, Jae fishes his phone out from one of his back pockets before placing it in Brian’s grasp.

Heart beating loudly, he takes it to type in his number. Then, as he’s about to enter his name, he sees this for what it is—a perfect opportunity.

Smiling to himself, he confidently saves his contact information in Jae’s phone:

**bribri 😘**

After sliding the phone across the table back to Jae, Brian waits for Jae’s reaction once he sees what he did.

As expected, when he reads the contact name set there, Jae’s cheeks start getting tinged with rose while a smile stretches across his wonderful lips.

“What will you save mine then?” Jae asks as he rings Brian’s number so that he can also have his.

Brian pretends to think. “That depends.” 

“On what?”

“Hypothetically, if we were a couple, what do you want us to call each other?” He repeats with a wink, “This is all just hypothetical, of course. Mainly for research purposes.”

Jae lets out a loud laugh. Playing along, he starts, “Okay, then. Hypothetically, if you were to be my hypothetical boyfriend, I would call you ‘love’ or ‘my love’. In a hypothetical world, that is. Is that alright with you? Hypothetically?”

Again, Brian pretends to mull over his answer, making Jae laugh some more. 

Finally, he takes out his phone as well to save Jae’s number.

The other man waits patiently as Brian decides on his contact name.

And just after a minute or two spent on thinking, he excitedly shows Jae the screen of his phone.

Jae squints his eyes in the most adorable way as he reads:

**baby jwae 💗**

“Hey, no fair.” He complains, leaning back on his chair. “Why is mine half a joke? Besides, I’m older than you, remember?”

Brian feigns innocence. “I don’t know what you mean.”

To this, Jae subconsciously juts his lower lip in a pout and puffs out his cheeks in mild protest. Both gestures that further prove the truth behind the contact name that Brian has set for him. 

Brian can’t help but to reach over and pinch both of his cheeks. “Why is Jwae sad?” He coos teasingly. “Bribri doesn’t like seeing baby Jwae sad.”

He can see that Jae is trying and ultimately failing to hold in his laughter.

“I’ll get you back for this.” Jae threatens, sending a playful glare at Brian. “I’ll think of something obnoxiously cuter to change your name into. You’ll see.”

“Okay.” He replies, still with that overly innocent facade. “Whatever you say, baby Jwae.”

And so for the rest of their time together, they just kept going back and forth on their bantering-slash-flirting.

It isn’t until the coffee shop is completely empty of the other customers, and Brian’s employees start cleaning up, that Dowoon finally kicks the two of them out. Brian is too engrossed in listening to Jae’s funny stories about some of his not-so-fruitful restaurant visits to be bothered about his friend kicking him out of his own café. On the other hand, Dowoon is his most trusted employee as well so he doesn’t have to worry about securely locking up the shop and all that.

After strolling around and chatting animatedly, with Brian recounting about how he learned everything he knows about cooking from his mother at an early age, they both end up sitting at the very back of the bus on their way home at midnight.

Apparently, they don’t live that far away from each other, just two stops in between their apartment buildings.

“So, when can we go out again?” Brian asks as he sees from the windows that it’s not long now until his stop. He promised himself that he won’t go home without securing another date with Jae.

“Someone’s eager.” Jae flashes him a smile, gently nudging his side with his elbow.

However, instead of riding on the joke, Brian realizes he must’ve been coming on too strong. Glancing down to his lap, he takes it all back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I just thought that we were—”

“Bri, look at me.” Jae cuts him off, hooking a finger under Brian’s chin so that their eyes can meet. “How come you’re so aggressively flirty one second, then turn incredibly shy the next? God, it’s like, the more habits and details I notice, the more I’m fascinated by you and everything that you do.”

“Really?” He gazes back at Jae.

“Isn’t it obvious? Even my blog post is like a love letter addressed to you. I’m usually a shy person, but somehow, you make me feel brave enough to come out of my shell.” Jae lets out a chuckle, the sound of it self-deprecating. “So, let me make the first move this time, okay?”

Brian tilts his head as a response in questioning.

Clearing his throat, Jae continues, “Bri, want to have dinner with me tomorrow?”

“No.”

The surprise in Jae’s face is almost too comical. 

Slyly, Brian adds. “I want to have lunch _and_ dinner with you tomorrow.”

Jae sighs in relief before cupping Brian’s face with both hands and squishing his cheeks together, absolutely adored. 

“It’s a date then.” He says, leaning forward to rest his forehead against Brian’s while chuckling lightly in amusement. He nuzzles their noses together, his fondness for Brian almost radiating off the smile on his face.

Brian’s heart swells in anticipation. This is what all of those subtle yet bold and lingering touches are leading up to. The culmination of all of these meaningful looks that last a second too long. This is the closest that they have ever been. With neither of them showing any signs of pulling away.

And because Brian has never been afraid to go after what he wants, often letting his emotions guide his actions, he doesn’t hesitate to finally close that tiny distance between their lips. 

It’s just a soft, chaste kiss and over in a few seconds. And yet, Brian feels like the sensation of Jae’s lips against his has filled his entire body with warmth and brightness.

Pulling away, he meets Jae’s surprised eyes. But before he can start to second-guess himself, for doubt to creep into his mind that he might have scared him away, it’s Jae’s turn to take Brian by surprise. 

He surges forward to crash their lips together. Just like how quick and innocent that first kiss was, this one feels deeper and a lot less innocent. This is an exploration. This is another way for them to get to know each other more. And it all feels so fucking beautiful.

Brian keens as Jae guides his head with his hands so that he can deepen the kiss. He can’t help but sigh into it, meeting him halfway as he suckles on Jae’s lower lip. Their mouths slot together in the most perfect sense, as if this is all too familiar and they're just going by muscle memory. Which is in of itself a fascinating feeling.

Boldly, Brian darts the tip of his tongue out, nudging the other’s lips and asking entry. And when Jae’s response is almost immediate, Brian feels himself melt right then and there. They begin tasting each other’s mouths, getting more and more into it. Jae’s hands travel down from cupping Brian’s cheeks to interlacing his fingers at the back of Brian’s neck, keeping him as close as possible. Brian, in return, snakes his hands between their torsos to grip the front of Jae’s shirt. 

But then, he remembers one thing he had been curious about ever since he first laid eyes on Jae. And so, slowly, he reaches a hand up to card his fingers through Jae’s hair. 

Jae gives off the quietest of whimpers from the back of his throat after Brian sucks on his tongue.

Smirking into the kiss, satisfied and increasingly turned on, Brian angles his body closer to Jae. He slides his knee into the space between Jae’s thighs as a blatant display of affection and an invitation.

Brian has half a mind to notice that the bus has slowed down to a stop. He’s supposed to get off now, be content with having this ‘goodbye kiss’ from Jae, and walk home.

Brian does neither.

He stays rooted in his seat until the bus starts moving again, going farther away from his stop. But he figures Jae doesn’t need to know that.

And so, he happily keeps kissing Jae, savoring the gentle bites, licks, and touches from the both of them. They keep at it for the next few kilometers, uncaring that they’re clearly still in a public transport. But thanking the stars all the same that since it’s already so late into the night, there are only a handful of other passengers with them. They’ve been discreet enough not to further attract other people’s attention.

At some point, Jae finally pulls away, effectively stopping themselves from further devouring the other. They’re both out of breath as they stare into each other’s eyes, a blissful smile etched onto their faces.

Fortunately, Jae is responsible enough to know when he’s supposed to get off the bus. And so, as his gaze darts towards the windows, he realizes where they are.

“Oh, shit, Bri. You missed your stop!” He tells him, eyes widened a fraction.

Brian’s smile turns into a grin as he simply says, “I know.”

Understanding quickly dawns on Jae. 

“You dork.” He lets out delighted giggles, stealing a few more pecks from Brian’s lips. “It’s too late in the night, you know. I can’t just have you going home alone.”

Brian rests his head against Jae’s shoulder. “I can handle myself. Don’t worry about me, Jaehyungie.”

“I know that, Bri. But still, I kinda feel like it’s my fault you missed your stop.” Jae sighs. Tapping Brian’s leg to get his attention, he offers, “Why don’t you just stay the night in my place?”

“You just can’t get enough of me, huh?” He teases, coy and tempting. But on the inside, he’s trying really hard to calm his racing heart.

“Would it be bad if I say yes?” Jae plays along. “No, but seriously, Bri. Just stay over. I’ll feel like a dick for letting you go at this hour.”

“Alright, then, Mr. Park.” Touched and overly fond, Brian brushes off the hair on Jae’s forehead before pressing a kiss to one of his cheeks.

“Would it also be bad of me to ask you to cook breakfast tomorrow?” Jae jokes, earning him a playful smack on the arm.

“You’re lucky I love cooking.” Brian quips as the bus slows down to a stop again. “And that I like you a lot so it’s a win-win situation for the both of us.”

Standing up, Jae offers his hand out for Brian to take. “I’d say I like you a lot too but I’m already taking you home with me so I guess that’s a given at this point.”

Brian lets out a laugh, intertwining their fingers before they walk down the aisle to get off.

Needless to say, their night doesn’t end so soon. There’s a lot more bantering, cuddling on the couch, kissing, and talking. Definitely a lot of talking as they get to know each other deeper. And in doing that, they quickly realize that the more they know, the easier they find themselves falling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated! :)


End file.
